Imaginary (Sope)
by kybeech
Summary: Yoongi has a friend. A real friend. And no one can tell him he doesn't. Includes references to mental health issues, specifically schizophrenia and anorexia. Also a lot of crying. A lot is left unexplained and up to your imaginations. Angst but with a happy ending.
1. Chapter 1

Yoongi first met Jung Hoseok when he was seven years old. He remembered exactly how it happened. He was feeling lonely, very lonely, sitting in the playground by himself. One minute, he was alone and the next, there was someone on the bench with him, swinging his legs off the edge. He had the brightest smile Yoongi had ever seen and it made him smile as well.

"Hello! You looked lonely, so I'm here now! My name's Jung Hoseok, but you can call me Hobi!" Yoongi liked the idea of having a friend and Hobi seemed nice. So he replied,

"I'm Min Yoongi. Can we be friends?" Hobi kept smiling at him and said,

"Of course!" Yoongi smiled with relief that his request had been accepted. He talked with Hobi for the rest of break, learning about him. He was a pretty independent child since his parents had very important jobs that meant they were away a lot. He didn't live too far away from Yoongi so they could walk home together. He was really clever and had been moved up a year so he wasn't in any of Yoongi's lessons. He sometimes wore glasses because he couldn't see writing that well.

The bell rang for the end of break and Hobi disappeared. Yoongi ran to his class, happy that he had someone to talk to now. When school was over, Hobi was waiting for him outside and they walked home together talking about what music they liked. Yoongi knew a lot more about music than Hobi did and had to explain a lot, but Hobi was a good learner and attentive as well.

Hobi stayed at Yoongi's house for a while because his parents wouldn't be home yet. Yoongi didn't know what he did normally, but that didn't really matter. Yoongi's parents were home and he did a quick introduction before running out into the garden with Hobi. He remembered his parents being slightly confused but happy for him in the end. It was true that Yoongi was not the most adept at making friends so they were probably a little bit surprised to meet Hobi.

He quickly became Yoongi's best friend. True, he was Yoongi's only friend, but they were closer than that. Yoongi trusted Hobi with everything and Hobi told Yoongi everything. They hung out and talked every day for years. Even when Yoongi went on holiday with his family, he made sure to schedule his destinations with Hobi and his parents so they ended up in the same place.

As he got older, more people came and talked to Yoongi asking about him and Yoongi always talked politely to them, making no promises of being friends. He was always confused about why they never talked to Hobi, but he assumed it was because he didn't talk to them either. He was quite shy when it came to talking to other children, but was really open with Yoongi.

When they were ten, Hobi told Yoongi that he thought Yoongi's parents didn't like him. Yoongi realised that they had never started a conversation with him or smiled at him around the house, even though he came over most days. Once Hobi had gone home, he confronted his parents. They looked confused but they apologised and promised to be more inclusive in the future. He swore he could hear them whispering as he walked away but he ignored it.

When he was twelve, he realised that Hobi hated playing video games. Hobi told him it was because he never wanted to play the games his parents bought him in an attempt to buy his love, so he never played anything. He was much more content watching Yoongi play, anyway. His mom used to bring them snacks when he was in his room but he still always had to remind her to bring something for Hobi. He always turned out never to be hungry and, eventually, Yoongi stopped asking.

When he was nearly thirteen, Yoongi's parents sat him down at the kitchen table for a serious conversation. Yoongi didn't like serious conversations and asked if Hobi could stay. They told him they wanted to talk about Hobi and Yoongi was confused. When he was nearly thirteen, Yoongi was told that he needed to go into therapy. When he was nearly thirteen, Yoongi was told that Hobi did not exist. When he was nearly thirteen, Yoongi screamed so much that he lost his voice.

Yoongi didn't want therapy. But, apparently, he had to. Hobi didn't think he should go either. Because Hobi was real. He was a human being who cried when he was sad and bled when he fell down and Yoongi's parents had the audacity to say that he didn't exist. It made no sense.

The first time Yoongi went to therapy, he didn't speak. His parents spoke for him. They said so many things wrong but Yoongi did not say a word. The therapist had told Hobi to wait outside so Yoongi walked out to talk to him. They tried to stop him but he didn't know why. They weren't even talking to him. They were just talking about him and Hobi, like he wasn't in the room and like Hobi, wasn't real.

The next time Yoongi went to therapy, he untied all of the lies that his parents had told. He had met Jung Hoseok in the playground when he was seven and they had been best friends ever since. He was waiting just outside because he was a supportive and caring friend. They had fought a few times, but they had made up quickly because they were so attached to one another.

Yoongi was crying. He ran out of that uncomfortable, lonely room, grabbed Hobi's hand and ran out of the building. He could feel Hobi's fingers between his. They hid behind the building and Hobi let Yoongi cry. Hobi explained that his own parents had gone away without him and he was all on his own except for Yoongi. Yoongi promised that he would always be there for his best friend. When he was thirteen, Yoongi had his first kiss in an alley behind a psychotherapeutic hospital with Jung Hoseok. And that was so fucking real.

Yoongi was not an idiot. His parents thought he was. They thought he wouldn't notice the prescription letter on his father's desk, the random cloudy glasses of 'medicine' they kept telling him to drink, the strange powder lazily stirred into his food. There was nothing wrong with him and Yoongi did not need medicine. So all he did was not eat anything they gave him. The only reassurance he had was Hobi.

Occasionally, Yoongi got texts from his classmates saying they were worried and asking if he was okay and offering to be his friend. Yoongi deleted their numbers. He didn't need them telling him he was wrong as well. So he stayed away from them. He stayed away from everyone because he was so afraid that they'd upset his only friend.

One day, his father snapped. He grabbed Yoongi's hair and forced two pills into his mouth, telling him to 'just be fixed already.' Yoongi ran to his room and cried himself to sleep. When he woke up, Hobi was there, too. Except he wouldn't talk. He stayed by Yoongi's side but didn't say anything. Yoongi didn't know what he had done wrong but he just cried. He expected to feel Hobi's hand on his but didn't.

When he opened his eyes, he saw that they were indeed holding hands. If he focused, only if he focused, he could feel him. The image was a little unclear and Yoongi had no idea what those pills were but he hated them. He cried all day, ate and drank nothing in case they were spiked, and waited for things to just be back to normal.

Yoongi woke up in somewhere that was not his room in clothes that were not his. He was in a basically empty room save for a very uncomfortable bed, a table and a chair and a very poorly camouflaged camera. Yoongi wanted to destroy it as soon as he saw it. At least they had let Hobi stay. He was apologising and saying that he wanted to talk yesterday, but Yoongi's parents had threatened him into keeping quiet. Yoongi wanted to scream. And did.

A nurse immediately ran into his room asking what was wrong. Yoongi cried that he wanted out but the nurse wouldn't let him. She locked the door behind her, leaving Yoongi and Hobi pounding on the door only to be ignored. When food came, Yoongi did not eat it. When water came, Yoongi did not drink it. He was prepared to die in this room for his friend. And his friend knew it.

Hobi started crying and Yoongi did not know why. Hobi explained everything. That this was all his fault. He was going to go and find his family and live. Yoongi should just take his medication and do the same. Neither of them should have to suffer this much because it just wasn't fair. They would find each other again someday but for now, they would have to give in for the sake of their lives.

Yoongi wept and wept because he knew that Hobi was right. He took a plate of food, knowing it was drugged, and ate as much as he could. In the middle of the night, he threw up, his body rejecting the acceptance of loss, but Yoongi kept trying to live, knowing that's what Hobi wanted from him. He voluntarily took medicine. He ate and drank normally. He stabilised his sleep pattern and didn't see Hobi at all.

When he was twenty-four years old, Yoongi was fine. He took his medication every day and only talked to people that were, in fact, real. Now he was older, he realised that twelve-year-old him just didn't want to accept that he had schizophrenia. But he did and it had nearly killed him. But even now, Yoongi sometimes thought back on his best friend. He still considered Hobi his first kiss, despite the fact that it hadn't really happened.

Yoongi was walking home from work one day – a well-paid, if slightly dull, job that let him provide for himself and his parents as well. Across the crowded square, he saw something impossible. So impossible it made his heart jump. Because he had taken his medication every day since he was fourteen. And yet there, standing and scrolling through his phone, was Hobi. Sure, a little more grown up, but there. Yoongi nearly collapsed. But he couldn't.

_We'll find each other again someday_, Hobi had told him. And dear God that kid had been right. Yoongi ran towards his childhood friend. He looked up at the approaching footsteps and his eyes caught on Yoongi. They stood, just feet away from each other, taking in everything. Hobi nearly dropped his phone.

"Y-Yoongi?" he stuttered and Yoongi nearly cried at the sound of his voice.

"Hobi…" Hobi took a few steps closer.

"But… you're real this time," he almost whispered. Yoongi smiled,

"So are you." They just laughed and hugged. Later, they would realise that they had never met before. They were just two lonely children who had sought comfort in their visions. Fate introduced them and fate pulled them apart. But something else reunited them on that strangely bright March afternoon. Something warm and something beautiful. And something so, so real.


	2. Chapter 2

**This was requested and I was bored so here yall go :)**

"You aren't _supposed_ to be real," Hoseok pointed out as they were sitting on a bench. There was no way that Min Yoongi was sitting next to him right now, Yoongi was just a vision, a torturous hallucination that kept Hoseok happy for so long until everyone told him he wasn't real. Hoseok had put up so much of a fight, battling to keep Yoongi in his life. It was Yoongi himself, in the end, who convinced Hoseok to take his medication and live. And he had. But he was back.

"Well, neither are you," Yoongi replied. They had gone through the same thing. Different children, different cities, yet the same story. They knew each other, somehow. As they talked through it all, Hoseok realised that Yoongi knew every last detail, right down to the glasses that used to hurt his eyes so much. Hoseok knew about Yoongi, too. It was odd but neither was surprised. Sure it was supernatural, but it just made sense to them.

"You weren't a vision. You existed in some form or another, even if you weren't directly next to me. I want them to see that," Hoseok declared. Yoongi tilted his head.

"Who?" he asked and Hoseok smiled,

"My family. They thought I was insane. They sent me to that horrible psychotherapist we ran out of together and we…" He trailed off as he remembered what he still considered his first. Yoongi shifted closer and smirked,

"I know what you're talking about, idiot. It's the same story with our places switched. In the alley behind the hospital and I told you that you were all I had. Of course I remember what came next," Yoongi assured him and Hoseok blushed.

"Right. Don't you want your parents to know as well?" he asked, changing the subject back. Yoongi shrugged,

"What, that you're real?" Hoseok shook his head.

"That you were right. Sure, we are both actually schizophrenic but we weren't just visions. We weren't crazy, just lost. I didn't create you, I found you. You saved me. That's not insanity, that's _destiny_." Yoongi smiled and Hoseok noticed that they were holding hands. He didn't know when that had happened but he wasn't going to stop it.

"Yeah, okay," Yoongi agreed. "My parents sent me through hell because of my brain and it would be nice for them to know that it was more their fault than yours or mine." Hoseok grinned. "They do live back in Daegu, though." Cringing slightly, Hoseok replied,

"Yeesh. I guess we'll do mine first then." This excited Yoongi, the prospect of proving their sanity, proving that neither of them was wrong.

It wasn't a long drive to Hoseok's parents' house and Hoseok was incredibly nervous when they pulled up. Yoongi sensed this, of course, and kissed him on the cheek. If anything, this made his heart race more.

Hoseok knocked on the door. He had keys but he would much rather announce his presence. His mother opened the door and smiled warmly, not expecting to see him. Hoseok and Yoongi made their way inside.

"Who's your friend?" Hoseok's mother asked once his father was also summoned. Hoseok smiled,

"This is Yoongi. I believe you know him." He was polite but also staring sharply at his father. His mother faltered and addressed Yoongi.

"Ah… Yoongi? Darling, you know about our Hoseok's, um, condition, yes?" she smiled apologetically at Yoongi, who smiled nicely back. 'Soulmates', as they decided to call each other, tended to be on the same page.

"How could I not? We've been best friends since he was six. You remember, right?" he asked so innocently that it made Hoseok want to laugh. His parents looked so confused.

"Best friends? Hoseok never mentioned you…" his father mumbled and Yoongi laughed,

"Are you sure? I came over almost every day, we played games together, went on holiday together. Hobi was my only friend. We even went to therapy together. Min Yoongi? Ring any bells?" It was a little bit passive-aggressive and 100% perfect. Hoseok bit his cheek to hold back a smile as he watched his parents look at each other in bafflement.

"But… that wasn't real… Min Yoongi was just one of Hoseok's visions," his mother tried. Hoseok hummed,

"One of them? I never had anyone else, eommani. Just him. He's finally come back to say hello. Are you still doubting his existence even now?" This left both elders speechless and Hoseok shrugged. "Okay then. Come on, hyung. Let's go, I guess." They both stood up and left without another word. Once they were outside, Yoongi chuckled,

"That was fun." Hoseok grinned in agreement. They got in the car and began the long drive to Daegu, where Yoongi first met Hobi. The hours passed like a dream, filled with laughter and interesting conversations and bad singing of iconic songs. By the time they got there, they barely remembered what they were supposed to be doing.

Yoongi gave directions to his parents' house and they arrived with a plan. It could very easily go wrong but they didn't care. It would be fun, probably. Yoongi opened the door to his house and called back to Hoseok,

"Okay, Hobi, come in whenever you're ready!" Hoseok didn't respond, as per the plan. Yoongi's parents came downstairs at the noise and smiled at their son. They greeted him warmly and Yoongi did the same. When his mom offered dinner, he said,

"Oh, if you're making something then Hobi's just sorting out the car. He'll be in in a minute if you want to eat with him." His parent looked at him, confused and concerned.

"Hobi? What do you mean, darling?" his mother asked nicely and Yoongi smiled,

"You must remember Hobi. I hung out with him literally every day! He was round here most of the time." His mother's smile faltered and his father looked stony. His mother smiled awkwardly.

"Hobi wasn't real… you have been taking your medication, haven't you?" she asked tentatively. Yoongi chuckled,

"Of course I have!" he replied and then called back, "Hobi, are you coming?" Just as he turned back to face his parents, a hand smacked him hard across the face. It was his father's. Because of course it was.

"You stupid child!" his father spat. "Even medicine couldn't help. Just how broken are you? You're just a lying maniac. If those nice expensive pills won't fix you, how does an asylum sound?" he raised his hand for another strike and Yoongi cried out,

"Hoseok, get the fuck in here!" The door burst open and Hoseok ran in to see his soulmate cowering beneath his father.

"Hey!" he yelled and drew the attention away from Yoongi's parents. "Still think he's insane? Well, here I am. Jung Hoseok, at your service, but you know me better as _Hobi_. Hyung, c' mere." Yoongi stumbled back and Hoseok held his hand. His parents were staring in shock and Hoseok in return was glaring daggers back at them. "Even if he wasn't taking his meds, that's no way to treat him. You really think you can hit him into being whatever you call 'normal?' If you can see me, doesn't that make you crazy, too?" For once, Yoongi's father looked speechless. His mother stuttered.

"But you aren't real…" she tried and Hoseok smiled cynically,

"Do I look imaginary? I was perfectly real; I just didn't grow up anywhere near here. I dreamed about Yoongi the same way he dreamed about me and you know what? My parents treated me like that as well. Did it help? No. That's why I'm here. Yoongi was the only one who treated me like a human and, if you don't mind, I don't want to spend my time around people who don't believe I am one."

With that, Hoseok walked towards the door. But Yoongi tugged him back. And spun him around. And kissed him. It was brief but smooth and sweet. Yoongi pulled back, beaming, and whispered,

"Run." So they bolted out the door, ran to the car and started it just as Yoongi's father sprinted out if the house, red-faced. Yoongi grinned and waved as they pulled out of the drive and sped down the road, giggling like the lunatics everyone thought they were anyway. But they didn't care what anyone thought of them. They were happy. Which is more than could be said for anyone else.


End file.
